Obamacare

On Wednesday, February 27, Rep. Pramila Jaypal (D-Wa) introduced H.R. 1384, the “Medicare for All Act of 2019.” As of March 8, the bill has 106 co-sponsors. That represents 45 percent of the Democratic caucus.

Today the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health held a hearing entitled, “Strengthening Our Health Care System: Legislation to Reverse ACA Sabotage and Ensure Pre-Existing Condition Protections.” The irony cannot be lost that Chairwoman Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) was a co-sponsor of H.R.

Once again, open enrollment began for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as Obamacare. The time frame to enroll is from November 1, 2018 to December 15, 2018 for coverage in 2019.

Healthcare remains a top issue among voters for the upcoming November 2018 elections. In a September 26, Pew Research poll, 88 percent of Democrats and 60 percent of Republicans believe healthcare is second in importance to Supreme Court nominations.

In June, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) declared that August should be healthcare month. The senator would prefer to talk about how to prop up the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), or perhaps Sen. Bernie Sanders’ Medicare for All Act that would bankrupt the country, anything to avoid voting for President Trump’s judicial nominees.

Today, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Treasury Department, and the Labor Department issued a final rule that will provide more lower cost options for Americans in purchasing health insurance. HHS Secretary Alex Azar said, “Under the Affordable Care Act, Americans have seen insurance premiums rise and choices dwindle.

On July 11 and 12, the House Ways and Means Committee marked up and passed 11 bills that will expand the use and availability of Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) for all Americans and would make other changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), or Obamacare. The bills considered were:

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, is bringing many changes in the healthcare space and few are as subtly transformative as the rapid increase in cross-industry consolidation. A record breaking 115 mergers and acquisitions among hospitals and health systems occurred in 2017, an increase of 13 percent from 2016.